Tucker linebacker James Vaughters is getting closer to making one lucky university extremely happy.

Thursday, Vaughters narrowed his list of favorite schools from eight to five, and broke down the final contenders in an email to UGASports.

"As you might imagine, it is very difficult for me to narrow the list down, since I think so highly of these great schools and coaches that are recruiting me," Vaughters said in the email. "But, as I eventually need to get to one school, I wanted to take a step further and narrow it down to five."

Vaughters listed his five finalists in alphabetical order.

• Alabama - "Defending national champions, a great leader in Coach (Nick) Saban), a great coaching staff, including the defensive staff, a strong academic reputation, great athletes and a chance to develop my skills for a possible shot at the NFL."

• Georgia - "A great program, academically and athletically, and close to home. I really like Coach (Mark) Richt, and adding Coach (Todd) Grantham, with his NFL experience and the 3-4 was really good. I like the concept of the Dream Team Class of 2011."

• Georgia Tech - "A great academic school, with a chance to win several more ACC championships. Close to home, so friends and family can watch us play. I like the addition of Coach (Al) Groh to the rest of the staff under Coach (Paul) Johnson's) leadership."

• Ohio State - "A great and longstanding football tradition, with a great record of developing and placing players in the NFL. Ohio State has a strong, national academic reputation and has an opportunity to win a National Championship in the next four years, plus I have lots of family in Ohio on both my Mom and Dad's side of the family."

• Stanford - "A great, global academic reputation, and an up and coming program in the PAC-10. They will be in the hunt for the PAC-10 title under Coach (Jim) Harbaugh's leadership. They have established a great coaching staff and they are developing better and better athletes."

Vaughters said he hopes to make a final decision sooner than later.

"I hope to continue with the evaluation process, with the idea that I will target to announce my commitment this summer. I would like to focus on next year's season, with the decision being made," Vaughters said. "The process has been pretty good, and if I know where I want to go, I think the other schools would like to know, so they can focus attention on their other outstanding prospects."